The Internet Saved Me Hundreds Of Dollars


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A short time ago I hooked up a digitial converter to my TV and was thrilled to see a far superior picture (and triple the channels, and ....). Ten minutes later, the picture went dim (regardless of the source -- it was the TV that was failing). That's my luck for ya!

If I cranked up the brightness and contrast controls I could get a watchable picture. Not great, but not that bad. I have only had this set worked on once in the twenty or so years I've had it and back then they said if it were any older they wouldn't even bother to come out because there wouldn't be any parts to fix it anyway. So ... five or more years after THAT, I seriously doubted they'd be willing to work on it.

What to do? The Internet baby! I found a TV-repair forum, posted what happened, and after some trial and error I, err, I mean, "we" fixed it.

The guy who explained what needed to be done apparently hasn't worked on sets as old as mine so a few details were off, that's where the "trial and error" came into play. Like an "access panel" on MY set turned out to be the front control panel (with the power switch, status lights, user controls, etc.). And the controls we were looking for inside the set were labeled in Japanese! :blink:

It's been a while since I've been EXCITED just to watch TV. :lol:

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Hmm , maybe I should fix those two old tvs I put up in the attic rather than taking them to the city CRT recycling event. Not.

I do have one old (1960 Magnavox console with tubes) one I will hold on to (although I really should just gut the console since it is solid cherry wood and put in a nice new tv.) But the old 19 inch Craig and Sansui will go to be recycled .

Besides which new CRT with ATSC / QAM tuners are cheap at Walmart if I wanted one.

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Wow, they still sell CRT sets? Or do they pay YOU to take them out of the store? ;)

*****

Just FYI, my projection set is CRT-based with R/G/B tubes projecting to a mirror then to a renticular screen. Old school baby!

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Edited by JDoors
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I just buy new TV's.... even when they aren't broke. I always want something bigger. Right now though, I'm still using a 27" Sanyo in my room. It's a few years old but the fact that it works fine ain't gonna stop me from buying a bigger LCD HDTV :P...... just the fact that I don't have money for one is stopping me :mellow:

Edited by Honda_Boy
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Money aside, this TV is ~twenty years old, it's not HD, it's an old projection set which means the viewing angle is quite limited, this is the second problem I've had ... SURE I'd like a new TV.

However, to acheive the same picture height for low-def pictures, of which there are still plenty, I'd have to buy a flat-screen that's over 50 inches diagonal. Even if money weren't an issue, that's a heck of an expensive replacement for a set that still works, and is still considered to be a large-screen TV (though HD pictures aren't IN HD and have black bars, the actual displayed picture, ignoring the black bars, measures ~45 inches diagonally).

*****

Edited by JDoors
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In my personal opinion, I'd rather have a 32-36" CRT TV over a bigger 45" Projection TV. I've never really liked them. if I want, I can get a Sanyo True Flat 32" CRT for free from the same friend I bought my Sanyo True Flat 27" from. He just bought a new 46" LCD and the 32" is taking up space. All I would need to do is degauss it since there has apparently been some form of magnetism too close to it. I'd just give my True Flat 27" CRT to my parents to replace their aging (and slightly messed up) RCA non-flat 27" CRT.

BTW, that 46" LCD HDTV of my friends.... frickin' awesome but ridiculously expensive. Blu-Ray movies are incredible on it.

Also, for me big screen HD video is replicated by sitting really close to my 24" monitor (which is 1920x1200, same width but slightly taller than 1080p which is 1920x1080) and playing HD video. Which I sit close to it anyway. It's my computer monitor.

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CRT's are still the standard for picture quality, but of course are limited in size and, lately, availability. Projection TV's have improved astronomically since I bought mine and they've long since resolved some of the earlier limitations, but projection TV's too are limited in availability lately. I still like 'em 'cause they're the cheapest way to get a REALLY big screen.

Ya have to wonder why so many big-name brands are withdrawing from the plasma TV market, like they know something we don't. Or it just could be those brands have simply called it quits 'cause they cannot compete in price with the remaining brands. I'd prefer an LCD, but hopefully I can wait for selective LED backlight dimming to come down in price.

Regarding my TV: I've finally "tweaked" the controls inside the set to my satisfaction. It's pretty tricky 'cause the potentiometers for RGB make HUGE differences when you just barely move them at all. Touchy! (Just like me!) I never did adjust the "focus" pots, they're "sealed" at their setting by paint (or whatever) and I didn't think they'd be worth the bother of breaking the seal.

I did, however, notice how to adjust the alignment of the CRT tubes ... Ahh, since day one the alignment was off at the edges of the screen ... I COULD try ... I dunno, I've lived with it for twenty years, do I REALLY wanna start messin' with it now? :unsure:

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They are withdrawing from the Plasma market due to low sales. To the average consumer, looking at an LCD and a Plasma in a store under that bright lighting, Plasmas look dimmer than LCD's so people think the LCD is better so more people buy them. Plus I do believe LCD has a longer life span than Plasma anyway doesn't it? I've always heard that a plasma good pretty much for it's warranty but many fail as the warranty runs out. My experience with smaller LCD Monitors has proven their longevity to me. I've had my 19" and used it everyday for the last 2 1/2 years (I used it extensively for about 2 of those years) and it's still going just fine. My 24" is only about 6 months old so it's still gotta prove itself but since they are both Acers I expect my 24" to last too.

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At my current state of knowledge, CRT's, being a mature product, are the most reliable. There's not yet enough information to draw any conclusions about Plasma vs. LCD. There's a lot more that CAN go wrong with Plasma IMO. If anything goes wrong with an LCD it'll likely be the backlight, which if fluorescent isn't a big deal. No one knows for certain about the longevity of LED backlights.

Re: LED longevity. I worked in a casino and they eventually replaced all those flashing, twinkling lights with LEDs. Guess what? They go out all the time. I don't know if they "burned out" or if it was a mechanical problem (contacts for example) but I saw LEDs that were out every day (of course, that's out of hundreds of thousands of individual lights, so that's kind of an accelerated sample).

But it's kinda like computers, if you're worried about longevity, why bother? You'll likely replace your old one before it dies a permanent death.

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I have a friend that has a few LED lights in his house. One died after about a year the company replaced it for free. They told him that lights don't usually die but the circuit board production isn't 100% reliable yet, maybe a bad solder joint or something. The newer light was built better.

I have two LCD tv's a really nice 32" in my living room and a real cheap 19" in the bedroom. I think the light weight and energy savings are a big reason for the lcd popularity. People tell me that plasma has better blacks and a bit better picture but I could care less they both work and take up very little room.

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I bought a few of the C7 replacement (night light bulbs) LEDs when they first started carrying them at Walgreens, Frys, and Walmart. I think I paid $3.99 for a set of two (bought two sets).

Brighter than a 7 watt incandescent and use 0.3 watts. I bought several different LED nightlights (same deal 0.3 watt) I like the ones you can rotate and focus best (use them to illuminate the spots on the floor where the dogs like to lie down and you trip over em if the house is dark so I do not need to turn on lights at night). Neat feature was the light sensor which turns them off when the sun comes up or you turn on a light.

After Xmas, I went on a clearance shopping spree and bought 800 LED lights for about $30 total.

Several strings of icicle lights, some of the little berry ones, some colored some white. I read the lables and calculated I can leave them on all night for about 50 cents a string per month (compared to at least $5 -10 per strand for regular bulbs). I figure they will pay for themselves in electricity costs the first year I use them. I always grumble and delay putting lights up (much to the OLs chagrin) each year because they cost so much to run; next year I think I may spring a surprise and put them up on Halloween. That ought to freak the neighborhood out, and get them in the spirit early.

I bought a 15 LED flashlight which has a tremendous bright light. Not as good as my old million candle power flood; but it lasts forever. Great for power outage season. They now sell for $3.99 at Family Dollar; and 9 LED ones abound for $2.99.

Sams Club has started carrying the new 40 Watt replacement (use 1.5 watt) 3 for $15, and the 45 watt flood replacements (use 3.5 watt) are 2 for $15.

Since I converted all my lights to CFL years ago I have no immediate need for any of those; but as soon as I need to replace any bulbs I am going LED.

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I didn't know LEDs were getting so cheap. I used to put fluorescent fixtures above and below the kitchen cabinets for "ambient" lighting, but the CHEAP fixtures available nowadays (cough-CHINA-cough) would burn out too soon and I stopped replacing 'em. Hey, I NEED that light, and I've been tempted to go LED but thought they were still too expensive. Time to go shopping!

LED lamp replacement bulbs are becoming available, just $119.00 apiece! :rolleyes:

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